Cigarette package



Jan. 13, 1959 LEGNAIOL] 2,868,363

' CIGARETTE PACKAGE Filed March 7, 1957 K is bll'fifi ilml' F G. 4, INVENTOR.

LOUIS F. LEGNAIOLI .W v ATTORNEYS a container for cigarettes.

This invention relates to a cigarette package and, more particularly, to a cigarette package providing means whereby a consumer may make notes on the cigarette package by-means of a suitable writing instrument positioned within the package when the cigarettes are originally packed within the package.

Many people, particularly business people, whenfaced with the necessity of writing notes or memoranda frequently find themselves without the means for doing so. While some billfolds and purses provide for the reception of note paper and a writing instrument, the average person sooner or later loses or fails to replace these facilities after they have been consumed and thus, due to the fact that the life of a billfold or purse is substantially longer than the life, of these facilities, it frequently occurs that a person with such a billfold or purse still finds himself without facilities for recording notes or memoranoa.

With the extensive use of cigarettes most people have in their possession at all times a cigarette package. Even during hot weather when persons are dressed in light garments with few pockets, one article they most always carry is a package of cigarettes. The package of cigarettes, therefore, affords the ideal medium for providing a consumer with a readily available memoranda recording means.

While the surface of a pack of cigarettes may easily be written upon, a further difficulty arises in that the consumer will not, normally, carry on his person a suitable writing instrument. Furthermore, the packaging of such an instrument externally of the cigarette package imposes a substantial burden in the cigarette package manufacturing process and interferes with the subsequent packing of the individual packages in containers carrying a plurality of packages.

It is the primary object of this invention to provide a cigarette package having provision thereon for the reception of notes or memoranda and including a writing instrument so positioned within the package as to not add any bulk to existing cigarette packages. Thus, the addition of the writing instrument does not necessitate any change in the present arrangement of cigarette packages in receiving cartons.

It is a further object of the invention to provide, on the conventional cellophane wrapped cigarette package,

an area on the cellophane wrapper superimposed on an,

area on the package proper, both of which areas may be written upon by an instrument contained within the cigarette package, thus there is provided two writing surfaces and there is provided a removable memorandum sheet which may be taken from the package of cigarettes without destroying the utility of the cigarette package as Furthermore, there is provided a removable memorandum sheet which upon its removal does not interfere with the carrying of the writing instrument which is positioned inside the package along with the cigarettes contained therein.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an 2,868,363 Patented Jan. 13, 1959 inexpensive, non-brittle writing instrument which can be packed within a cigarette package, which is not susceptible to breakage and which will not provide a potential hazard to a person carrying the package.

These and other objects of the invention relating to details of the arrangement of the cigarette package and to details of the writing instrument will become evident from the following description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawing in which:

Figure, l is a perspective view of an opened cigarette package embodying the invention showing a writing instrument within the package;

Figure 2 is a top view of the package shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a side view of the writing instrument shown in Figure l; and

Figure 4 is an end view of the writing end of the writing instrument shown in Figure 1.

In Figures 1 and 2 there is indicated generally at 10 a cigarette package formed by a wrapper or container 12 partially closed at its upper end as indicated at 14 and provided with the usual tax stamp 16. The figures show the package opened in a conventional manner, i. e., by tearing away a portion of the closed upper end of the package and a group of cigarettes 18 are shown in raised positions extending therefrom. While Figures 1 and 2 show a paper wrapped type of package it should be noted that a box type or other type of package may be employed in an embodiment of the invention.

A wrapper 20 of cellophane or similar transparent film material, shown as cut away in Figure 1, is provided externally of the container in the conventional fashion in order to provide for the retention of moisture within the package until the cigarettes are consumed and to provide a cover for the printed surface of the container. The container is marked with suitable indicia such as in dicated generally at 22 providing identification of the brand of cigarettes, the manufacturer of the cigarettes or other desired information.

The cigarettes contained within the package are shown in the drawings as being arranged in the conventional fashion. The conventional package of cigarettes carries twenty cigarettes arranged in three rows, two rows of seven cigarettes each and one row of six cigarettes positioned in staggered relation with the rows of seven cigarettes. This arrangement of cigarettes provides a space at the endof the row of six cigarettes which is approximately the size of one-half a cigarette and is of sufficient size to receive a writing instrument such as that indicated at 24 in Figures 1 and 2. It will be evident that if the writing instrument is made of a length not greater than the length of a cigarette and made of a diameter not exceeding more than approximately one half the diameter of a cigarette that the instrument may be positioned in this space without in any way interfering with the conventional packaging of the cigarettes.

Such a writing instrument is shown in Figures 3 and 4 and is preferably constructed of a roll of film material as indicated at 26 in Figure 4 providing an internal cylindrical bore within which there is retained a rod. 2 8 of writing material. The rod need not extend for the length. of the instrument 24 but may be terminated at a length of, for example, one inch within the cylinder 24 as indicated at St]! in Figure 3. An entirely suitable arrangement is made when a cellophane sheet is rolled around a length of lead of the type employed :in a conventional lead pencil.

The writing instrument is manufactured with a portion of the writing means 28 extending from the end thereof as shown in Figure 3. The instrument may also be provided with an end portion 32 of the film material separated from theremainder of the film material by The writing instrument described is of such construction that a consumer carrying the package, for example, in a pocket on his person, cannot be injured by the writing instrument in the event that he is subjected to a blow or impact Withthe writing instrument positioned between the consumer and the object striking the blow. Thus, the Writing instrument described provides, in an inexpensive instrument, both a replaceable tip and a measure-of safety both of which are desirably incorporated therein.

The package shown in Figure 1 carries, in addition to the identifying indicia indicated generally at 22, the word memorandum as indicated at 36 printed upon the container and showing through the transparent film covering thereover. The container in the region thereof indicated at 38 lying immediately below the word 'm'emorandum is blank to provide an area for receiving markings by a consumer. Most transparent film materials, such as cellophane commonly employed for covering a cigarette container, do not readily receive writing by means of a common lead pencil. Thus, the film wrapper 20 is provided with an area indicated at 39 within boundaries 40 with a surface prepared for the reception of marking by a consumer employing a conventional lead pencil. This surface preparation may be accomplished by roughening thesurface either mechanically or chemically, or may be provided by imprinting the surface with suitable inks or dyes which will provide a film on the surface which Will receive marking by a lead pencil. Such inks, dyes, and treatments are well known and need not be described herein in detail. It is sufficient to note that the treated area of the film wrapper is substantially coextensive with the blank area of the container and that these two areas lie below the word memorandum printed on the container in order that the word printed on the container serves to indicate the nature of the area of the film wrapper lying immediately therebelow and to indicate the area of the container lying therebelow when the film wrapper is removed therefrom.

a o w F It 18 also desirable to provide a container with an indication of which side of the container carries the writing instrument. Thus, there is printed on the c0ntainer the word Pencil as indicated at 42 and an arrow 44 extends from the printed word Pencil to the end of the container which should be opened to provide access to (iii and providing a removable sheet whereby notes maybe retained after the package is discarded. Furthermore, the package provides a writing instrument. which is expandable and may be discarded when'the empty packs age is discarded, and further the package provides for the carrying of the writing instrument without there being involved any change in size or contour of the package and without necessitating any substantial change in the procedure of filling and sealing the package. These considerations in conjunction with the particularly desirable incorporated writing instrument characteristics obtained by the writing instrument which I have dis closed, make possible the addition of the memorandum features to a cigarette package without materially increasing the cost of the package and without giving rise to any hazards to the consumer.

What I claim is:

1. A sealed package of cigarettes comprising a container, a plurality of cigarettes in said container, said cigarettes being'closely packed in said container, in rows with the cigarettes 'ofeach row thereof disposed in staggered relation to those ofeach adjacent row, a pencil arranged among said cigarettes, a transparent sheet material outer cover wrapped about "said container and adapted for receiving penciled notations, said container being provided with an outersurface area of substantial expanse that is free of all printed or other matterthat might obscure any of said penciled notations applied to the overlying area of said transparent cover.

2. A sealed package of cigarettes as defined in claim 1 wherein the pencil is of such sufliciently small "size in transverse sections that the space needed to receive the cigarettes alone is determinative of the container size, the presence of the'pencil in the container'having no bearing thereon.

3. A sealed package of cigarettes as defined in claim 1 wherein the outer surface area of the container'is marked to indicate the location of the pencil packaged with the cigarettes.

4. A sealed package of cigarettes comprising a container, a plurality of cigarettes in said container, said cigarettes being closely packed in said container, in rows with the cigarettes of each row thereof disposed in-staggered relation to those of each adjacent-row, a pencil disposed ina space between the wall of said container and the end row of the cigarettes in a row thereof, a transparent sheet material outer cover wrapped about said container and adapted for receiving penciled notations, said container being provided with an outer-surface area of substantial expanse that is free of all printed or other matter that might obscure any of said pencilednotations applied to the overlying area of said transparent cover.

5. Asealed package of cigarettes as defined in claim 4 wherein the outer surface area of the container that is free of all printed or other matter that might obscure penciled notations applied to the overlying area of the transparent cover is blank.

References Cited in'the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,761,407 OSullivan June 3, 1930 2,007,632 Blank July 9, 1935 2,122,498 Stensvad July 5, 1938 

